Sunday, November 10, 2013

VA Marks Veterans' Graves "UNKNOWN" Rather Than Identify Heroes

Mount
Moriah Cemetery, located in Southwest Philadelphia and Yeadon, Pennsylvania was
the largest private cemetery in Pennsylvania. The cemetery has been
largely abandoned since the owner died and his wife disavowed ownership in
2011.

The
cemetery has two National Cemetery plots, which Congress mandated to be
maintained by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The plots contain 2300
veteran’s graves, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients. One of
these plots, called the Naval Asylum Plot, is in dire need of help.

Sam
Ricks, who is on the board of Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, said,
"Both plots lacks something basic found in all other National
Cemeteries: a flagpole with a US Flag flying over veterans' graves.The
Naval Plot contains numerous grave markers that are now illegible after years
of inattention and lack of maintenance. The VA replaces them with their
ubiquitous white marble "UNKNOWN" marker despite
the availability of a volunteer conducted transcription survey
identifying many of the now blank Navy and Marine markers."

Ricks is
worried the grave markers that will ultimately
be "Lost to History" if the VA continues to replace them with
their ubiquitous white marble "UNKNOWN" markers."

Ricks
added. These are the graves of our Nation's earliest heroes,
who actually fought "from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of
Tripoli."

The VA
has also been to slow to place special gold leaf Medal of Honor designation on
the stones.

Paulette
Rhone, chairman of the board of the friends, had a chance encounter with the
VA grounds supervisor of Washington Crossing Cemetery, who
is responsible for the military cemeteries in the area, the day before the
government shutdown, September 30, to discuss the issue. The staff promised to
start taking care of the grounds, but have yet to do anything.